Vehicle body



July 9, 1935. v J COBLE 2,097,295

VEHICLE BODY Filed Jan. 6, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. F224,. mam

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ATTORNEYS M 9, 1935. B COBLE 2,007,295

Filed Jan. 6, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS J. B. COBLE VEHICLE BODY 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 6, 1935 INVENTOR.

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VEHICLE BODY Filed Jan. 6, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 so Q afi 06., w L7 25 X Q z I Li; J I

- L g 5 1/11 S flINV NTOR. 26 BY flaw m ATTORNEYS July 9, 1935. CQBLE 2,007,295

VEHICLE BODY Filed Jan. 6, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY w ATTORNEYS Patented July 9, 1935 2,007,295

, UNITED "STATES P EN OFFm-E VEHICLE BODY John B. Cable, Alexandria, Ky., assignor of onefourth to Fred J. Rittinger, one-fourth to Worth W. Whitaker, and one-fourth to Edward A.Rittinger, all of Alexandria, Ky.

Application January 6,1933, Serial No. 650,489

1 Claim. (01. 296--28) My invention relates to bodies for motor ve- Fig. 3 is a vertical cross. section thereof, taken hicles 'andmore particularly, as illustrated, for a on section line H of Fig. 1. refrigerator or insulated body for commercial 4 is a perspective illustrating the W g. motor vehicles. together of the assembled frame tubes and the 6 It is my object to construct a body which is of attaching bolt securing the y on the 5- much less weight than the present refrigerator hiele struck bodies, such as are required for use in the 5 is e perspeetiveef the Cab and the y long distance transporting of milk to the market. hose theIeebOU-t- Specifically it is my object to makea vehicle body t e 6 s a p p tiv vi w of th structu formed of a metallic frame work of metal tubing and mounting of One Of the d 10 welded together and so arranged as to form a is d a lp v s w t e mountsupport to an inner covering and an outer covering of the 1 leek l 1 ing. Fig. 8 is an elevation of a roof truss.

The outer covering which I-prefer to employ is 9 is an elevation of a Wa l 'u smade of airplane cloth, and the inner covering is a p p ve showingene 0f the 15 of wood. In connection with the inner covering, infereed tubes used in portions of the ame I provide for means for mounting furring strips Workto which a wooden inner wall can be secured in F 11 is a modification of the t Shown in any desired manner. The outer covering can '20 readily be sewed in place and anchored to the 12 is an elevation of a trllSS- frame work as a part of the sewing. Fig. 13 is a perspective illustrating the mode of My invention includes the use of internally remounting the flirting strips for the internal inforced tubing which makes a very strong and ihg 0f t e Vehicleyet light weight metallic frame member for Ve- Referring fi t t the al ru tu f th 25. hides; and I regard as novel, vehicle body, as already noted, it is formed of a My invention includes further the use 01'' 3190.. series Of trusses, the Whole Welded. trio welding to unite the tubing of which the together to form au t, th r f t uss s. (Fig- 8 frame work is lt in such way as t make t are formed of assembled light metal tubing with Que integralv structurg a'main bent tube I, and CIOSS member 2, With v The structure of the frame work is such that intervening tubes 3, and With tubes 30 each element transverse and lengthwise of the perellelline the Outer ends of the tubes The saidframe is a truss, and also the united trusses Well trusses (Fig. 9), are formed of vertical tubes are braced as units or sections by diagonally ex- 4, 4, With os members The floor trusses (Figtending members 12) are formed of heavier tubing and have There is provided by my invention, a k w straight tubes 6, slanting terminal tubes 1, "I and 35 frame to be secured to the body itself which sura shorter bottom tube 8, With ihtervehtihg rounds the cab of the vehicle, thus giving a hers V finish t t appearance th frame being These various truss members are to be made ered, and functioning as a nose which is readily up as shown a Weld-ed togetherdetachable from the body, and is an adjunct In building up the vehielejftamei there will 40 thereto,- be a jig provided to hold the series of floor trusses,

various features of m invention are app1i lengthwise connecting tubes Ill, willbe laid over cable to vehicle bodies in general, and the parthe lower tubes and also W be arrange? ticular embodiment of my invention which is 11- derneath tubes 6 (F and F i lustrated and described is intended as an exam- The Whole W then be Welded Into unit i p18 of my invention The general principles the lengthwise tubes welded preferably to the in,-

herent in the structure to be described and the te-rvemng tubes and arrange-d at th-eu' Junctures w th the top and bottom tubes. Diagonal tubes inventive comhmatmhs of Whlch the ehlbodlment I I are installed at the same time as the lengthwise 5c is an lllustratlon wlllbe Set forth In the tubes, so that the whole welding job is done at P once. These diagonal tubes form trusses with r In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a th lengthwise t b vehicle constructed according to my invention. In forming the roof of the structure the same Fig. 2 is a perspective of the frame work thereprocedure is followed, the trusses being arranged of. 1 in a jig and the lengthwise tubes l2 installed and 5.5

the whole welded together. The introduction of diagonal trussing members for the lengthwise tubes I2 is not necessary.

Although it may be desired to make up the wall sections of the frame in panels and then unite them with the roof and base sections, I have not illustrated this in my drawings. In making the side walls, front and rear of the frame, the roof section and the floor or base section are properly interspaced and the walls built between them.

Lengthwise tubes l3, are welded to the ends of the roof trusses as part of its original structure. The wall truss units are arranged with their wider dimension extending inwardly of the body, and welded at the top to the tubes l3, l3, of which there are a pair at each side of the roof. The wall trusses are also welded to the top members 6 of the floor trusses. Diagonal tubular braces 14 are arranged in sets at the front, rear, and the two sections (interspacedby door openings) at the sides, and welded in place, and lengthwise members l5, may be employed for interconnecting the side wall members to the extent desired. I have only employed these at the portions of the walls which define the sides of the vehicle because here the doors are to be supported.

For securing the body frame to the chassis of the motor vehicle, I secure plates 16, Fig. 4, at each floor truss, where the bottom tubes 3 thereof terminate, and weld these plates to the several tubes of the frame members that come together at that point. Also welded to the plates and to the assembly of tubes and extending down through the plate, is a bolt [1 for each plate.

In mounting the body on the chassis I place a rubber cushion 18, (Fig. 3), under each plate where it will rest on the lengthwise member or bed I9, of the frame, and I equip the lower end of the bolt with a hook plate 20 which engages around the lower flange of the frame member l9. Nuts on the ends of the bolts hold the hook plates tightly in place, and force the body down tightly against the chassis frame members.

In providing for the inner lining of the vehicle I provide furring strips 2| (Fig. 13), which are bolted bybolts 22 to the wall trusses, the bolts being thrust through crotches between the vertical and intervening members. The furring strips are held in place by nuts 22a on the ends of the bolts where they protrude through the furring strips. The boards 23 formingthe inner lining of the body are then nailed to the edges of the furring strips that lie a little further than flush with the inside tubes of the wall trusses. The

floor boards 32 are preferably held down on the.

floor trusses by means of hook bolts. which hook over the top members of the floor trusses and pass through the floor board. I have indicated such a bolt at 24 in Fig. 3. 7

' The doors (Fig. 6) are made up like the side Walls of vertical, truss members 25, with transverse tubes 26, this time in pairs, and cross tubes 21, the whole welded togetherinto a unit. A long piano type hinge plate 33 is secured to each door, and a like hinge plate 33a secured to the adjacent side wall frame portion, again by welding, so that a long pintle may be inserted to hold the doors in place. Lockplates 28 are secured to the side wall section opposite the hinge plates,

preferably reinforced by a series of trussing tubes 29 welded to the plates and to the frame tubes forming the wall truss located at the opening.

' In covering the outside of the frame so constructed, airplane'cloth 34 is applied, stretched of the nose being secured in place by long pintles,. and permits the removal of the nose. The nose will naturally be made to fit down over whatever cab is'employed with the vehicle, and will be covered with airplane cloth.

The body so formed has a dead air space 36 of considerable volume which provides ample insulation for the body. A refrigerating apparatus may be placed inside of the vehicle for maintaining a low temperature therein when this is desired.

The body is very light as compared with pres ent refrigeratorbodies for motor vehicles, and is attractive in appearance. It is very strong being trussed in all directions, and its mounting on the vehicle chassis is simple and very secure.

For the tubular portions of the heavier parts of the body frame I will preferably use types such as are illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. These consist of metal tubes 31 into which have been thrust metal sections which fill them and make trusses of them. In Fig. 10 the internal truss is formed of two angle strips 38, 38a, welded along the spaces 39 of the angle. In Fig. 11 the internal truss element is formed of a triangular piece 40, in cross section. Either form I find highly desirable for its lightness and strength. This form of tubular frame elements is quite desirable for any type of vehicle body construction, and I believe it to be novel with me.

It will be evident that while adhering to the principle of the structurenow described, fully trussed bodies of tubular elements can be built up and united by welding into a single unit, by using different shapes and arrangements.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

In a vehicle body with double side walls, a floor and a roof, a frame comprising vertical side wall trusses, each made up of an inner and an outer vertical member, cross members connecting the vertical members and diagonal braces connecting the junctions of the vertical and cross members, all of said members being rigidly joined together at their meeting portions, trusses connecting respective pairs of side wall trusses across the top and bottom of the frame, said trusses being rigidly secured together at their meeting portions, and longitudinal frame members connecting the several sets of vertical, top and bottom trusses at the junctions of the trusses, and rigidly secured to said trusses, said frame also including a minimum amount of diagonal bracing between vertical trusses and. deriving the major portion of its rigidity against transverse weaving from the truss formation of the vertical side walls members, and the major portion of its rigidity against longitudinal weaving from the connection of the sets of trusses by the longitudinal frame members, and the vertical side wall trusses serving to space inner and outer side wall layers to form a hollow side wall with a minimum of contained structural parts, for the purposes set forth.

JOHN B. COBLE. 

